For the sake of safety, mobile telephones are now commonly adapted to operate in the so-called hands-free mode, i.e. without the need to move the handset from the cradle. The driver of the vehicle is thus able to make and receive calls safely without having to physically pick up and hold the handset. The hands-free facility does, however, require the telephone to be equipped with an external microphone located in the vicinity of the user's mouth, and a separate loudspeaker in a fixed position enabling the incoming speech to be heard clearly by the user within the vehicle.
In prior art mobile telephones the hands-free loudspeaker has been mounted integrally within the cradle member behind a grille provided in an external wall thereof.
In a known mobile telephone apparatus, the handset is generally held by the cradle in such a position as to overlie the loudspeaker grille. The cradle is therefore specifically configured to provide a gap between the grille and the handset so that the sound output is not physically blocked. More particularly the face of the cradle member in which the grille is provided may be designed to slope away from the underside of the handset. Nevertheless, the presence of the handset in close proximity above the loudspeaker grille inevitably obstructs the sound from the loudspeaker and therefore reduces efficiency.
Another design consideration in the mobile telephone art is the desirability for the top face of the handset to be inclined towards the driver to facilitate access to the buttons or keys thereon and to permit easier reading of the visual display and indicator lights etc also provided on the top face of the handset. To this end it has been common practice to employ a generally V-shaped "clam shell" bracket incorporating a click stop mechanism. The limbs of the V can be opened at several different angles between -15.degree. and 115.degree.. One limb of the V is fastened e.g. to the central console of the vehicle, and the other limb is fastened to the underside of the cradle member. By opening the clam shell bracket to an appropriate angle the mobile telephone apparatus can be tilted towards the driver. A draw-back of this arrangement however is that a separate mounting bracket is required in addition to the telephone apparatus which thus adds to the overall cost of the equipment and furthermore the bracket itself, by virtue of its functionality, tends to detract from the overall aesthetic qualities of the telephone.